Material and hardware to automatically clean flexible electronic web rolls

ABSTRACT

Novel materials and devices can remove small defects from long rolls of flexible electronics material while they are in continuous motion. The cleaning materials are designed to remove small particles without transferring defects or damaging the flexible electronics. The device generally consists of variable speed, motor-driven cylinders mounted on movable brackets. The cylinders are capable of matching the speed of the cleaning material such that the cleaning material is always in contact with the web roll to be cleaned. The brackets are capable of rotating so the same material can be used more than once. Another material is used to remove debris from the cleaning material. A similar device consisting of motor-driven cylinders and movable is used to apply the debris removal film to the cleaning film, allowing the cleaning film to be used multiple times.

PRIORITY CLAIMS/RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 USC 120 and 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/634,545, filed Feb. 23, 2018and entitled “Novel Material And Hardware To Automatically CleanFlexible Electronic Web Rolls”, the entirety of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to novel materials and hardware that can beintegrated into a roll-to-roll manufacturing system and used to cleanthe working surface of rolls of web film used for manufacturing variousitems and products including, for example, flexible electronics andother similar applications including organic LEDs (OLED), displaypanels, and photovoltaic devices.

BACKGROUND

Flexible electronics, also known as flex circuits, is a technology forassembling electronic circuits by mounting electronic devices onflexible web substrates, such as polyimide, PEEK or transparentconductive polyester film. Additionally, flex circuits can be screenprinted silver circuits on polyester sheets or other similarly flexiblesheets. With lower manufacturing costs than traditional silicon-baseddevices, and the ability to flex, this technology enables many computingand display applications. For example, this technology can also be usedto produce photovoltaic cells and LED lighting panels. This processingmethod is known as roll-to-roll processing, web processing, reel-to-reelprocessing or R2R processing.

To mass-produce flexible electronics at high volume and low cost,manufacturers are developing roll-to-roll technology to provide inlineprocessing of wide and long rolls—up to 1 meter wide and 2000 meterslong. There are manufacturers who can produce these rolls of materials,but the manufacturing process leaves small defects on the surface of thematerial in the range of 0.5 microns to 250 microns.

Various steps in the device manufacturing process also produce defectson the working surface of the web material. The defects from these rollmanufacturing processes and the device manufacturing processes caninterfere with device processing and lead to low overall yield ofworking devices from the roll of flexible electronics.

It is difficult to remove these very small defects from the surface ofthe flexible electronic web roll. They are tightly bonded byelectrostatic forces, in particular, Van der Waals forces, which are toostrong to be overcome by ordinary washing techniques such as rinsing.Solvent-based cleaning solutions can damage the devices and cannot beused effectively.

Cleaning the surface of the flexible electronics web with an adhesiveroll is possible, but rapid buildup of defects on the adhesive roll willmake it ineffective very quickly. Furthermore, most adhesives will betoo sticky and either damage the surface or transfer some material tothe flexible electronics web roll. Such transfer will also cause yieldloss and reduce the number of working devices created on the surface ofthe flexible electronics roll.

Cleaning systems do exist today for flexible electronics web that makeuse of a single or double roller. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of acommercially-available cleaning system that uses rollers. The roller(16) is made of an adhesive material, typically silicone. This materialis cleaned by a roll of adhesive tape (15), that can be discardedperiodically. However, the silicone roller (16) must make repeatedcontact with the roll 15 to be cleaned. In addition, a small cleaningsurface area is repeatedly contacting a long roll of material. Thecleaning must be stopped to change the adhesive cleaning roll, so thereis a significant trade-off between cleanliness and line stoppage. Oncethere is a buildup of larger particles on the adhesive tape, it will nolonger effectively clean the roller. Also, this technique does not cleansmall particles well due to the electrostatic bonding of the smallparticles discussed above.

Therefore, a need exists in the field for novel cleaning material thatcan remove the defects from the surface of the flexible electronics rollwithout sticking or transferring material. There is also a need for adevice that enables this material to be run continuously as the longflexible electronics roll is running through the manufacturing process.There is also a need for another material that can remove defects/debrisfrom the cleaning material so it can be used multiple times on the verylong rolls of material, and there is need for a device to apply thedefect-removal sheet to the cleaning sheet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are illustrated as an example and are not limited bythe figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references mayindicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a cross section view of one example of the cleaningmaterial and positioning devices according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of one example of a cleaningdevice according to various embodiments described herein.

FIG. 3 shows a view of the cross section of the cleaning material usedto clean the flexible roll according to various embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 4 shows a view of the cross section of the cleaning material usedto remove defects from the cleaning material according to variousembodiments described herein.

FIG. 5 shows a view of the currently-existing cleaning systemsconsisting of cleaning rollers with a second roll of material used toclean the rollers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ONE OR MORE EMBODIMENTS

The disclosure is particularly applicable to a cleaning system andmethod for roll to roll manufacturing systems for flexible electronicsas disclosed in the figures and described below with the particularcleaning structure and it is in this context that the disclosure will bedescribed. It will be appreciated, however, that the cleaning system andmethod may be used for other manufacturing applications in which it isdesirable to be able to effectively clean the system. For example, thecleaning system and method may be used with a roll to roll processingsystem and method that, for example, may be used to perform nanoimprintphotolithography or manufacture photovoltaics, such as flexible polymersolar cells, perovskite solar cells, organic solar cells, etc. Thecleaning system and method may also be used to clean the flexible webrolls for automotive applications that would include variousrequirements for different types of stackable battery constructionsbeing built using roll-to-roll techniques. The cleaning system andmethod may also be used to clean the flexible web rolls forbiomechanical applications in which cleanliness and defect control iscritical for roll-to-roll fabrication of various wearable technologiesin which electronic and mechanical devices are integrated, printed, orembossed into fabrics and flexible various substrates that can be wornon the skin as well as wearable pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, thecleaning system and method also may be used to clean roll to rollsystems used to manufacture display products, such as for example,flexible AMOLED (Active Matrix Light Emitting Diodes) displays that maybe used in next generation flex display phones. Furthermore, the cleanersystem and method may be used for roll to roll fabrication methods forflex circuits examples of which are described atpdfs.semanticscholar.org/1eb5/d0be006ae57dfeb0cbaa8ac4ec1a56c59a19.pdfand inpressco.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Paper653457-3462.pdf thatare incorporated by reference herein.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, theterm “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,”and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well as thesingular forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willbe further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,”when used in this specification, specify the presence of statedfeatures, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by onehaving ordinary skill in the art. It will be further understood thatterms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will notbe interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expresslyso defined herein.

In describing the embodiments, it will be understood that a number oftechniques and steps are disclosed. Each of these steps and techniqueshas individual benefit and each can also be used in conjunction with oneor more, or in some cases all, of the other disclosed techniques.Accordingly, for the sake of clarity, this description will refrain fromrepeating every possible combination of the individual steps in anunnecessary fashion. Nevertheless, the specification and claims shouldbe read with the understanding that such combinations are entirelywithin the scope of the disclosure and the claims.

New cleaning materials, devices, apparatuses, and methods forpositioning cleaning materials on roll-to-roll web sheet manufacturingare discussed herein. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding. It will be evident, however, to one skilled inthe art may be practiced without these specific details. The presentdisclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the disclosure,and is not intended to limit the disclosure to the specific embodimentsillustrated by the figures or description below.

The web material cleaning system, device and method will now bedescribed by referencing the appended figures illustrating one or moreembodiments. FIG. 1 depicts a cross section view of one example of thecleaning material and positioning devices according to variousembodiments. In the various embodiments, a device 100 to clean aflexible web roll 1 has a device 101 that is configured with at leasttwo winding cylinders 31, 32, which pass a cleaning material 2 over anapplication cylinder 4, bringing it in contact with the material 1 to becleaned. In the example in FIG. 1, the cylinder 31 may be a sourcecylinder from which the cleaning material rolls off and the cylinder 32may be a take-up cylinder onto which the cleaning material rolls after aportion of it has been used to clean the flexible web roll 1. The device100 may be known as a moving cleaner device. In one embodiment, thedirection of movement of the cleaning material 2 is the same as thedirection of movement of the material 1 to be cleaned as shown by thearrows in FIG. 1. The material 1 may be supported by another cylinder 6as shown in FIG. 1. In another embodiment not shown in FIG. 1, thematerial 1 to be cleaned may be stretched against the cleaning material2 where the cleaning material 2 passes over roller 4 without asupporting cylinder. The cylinders 31, 32 may be driven by a variablespeed motor that may be synchronized so that the speed and direction ofthe cleaning material 2 is substantially similar to the speed of themovement of material 1. In the embodiments, the cylinders 31, 32 motorscan rotate in either direction. The straight arrows indicate an exampleof the direction of web 1 travel and cleaning material 2 travel duringthe cleaning process.

In the embodiments, the cylinders 31, 32 are supported by a movablebracket 5 which conveys power to the motors. The bracket 5 is able tomove away from the surface of web 1 and rotate through 180 degrees so asto reverse the direction of the cleaning roll motion and the cleaningmaterial 2 thus requiring the motor that rotate in either direction.When the direction of the cleaning material 2 is reversed, the cleaningmaterial is wrapped around the take-up cylinder 32 and then taken up bythe source cylinder 31 after each portion of the cleaning material 2cleans the web 1. The bracket 5 can then move back to position thecleaning material 2 against the roll 1. This may allow the same roll ofmaterial 2 to be used multiple times for cleaning. In the embodiments,the bracket 5 may also be designed to allow easy exchange of the roll ofcleaning material 2. The bracket 5 may be made from aluminum, metalalloy, hard web, or other suitable material. In the preferredembodiments, the bracket 5 and cylinders 31, 32 are under control of asystem sequence controller. The sequence controller is a softwareprogram that runs on a computer; either on the main system controllerfor the web manufacturing tool or on a stand-alone unit integrated tothe main system controller through a data connector—RS232 or similar.The sequence controller will control the cylinder motors 31,32. It willcontinuously match speed between the cleaning film and the web materialthat is being processed, including stopping the cleaning roll when theweb is stopped. The sequencer will also control the movement androtation of bracket 5 or 9. The sequence controller will collect datafrom the sensors described below 15. When the sensors indicate that theroll is near the end, the bracket will withdraw the cylinders, stop thecylinders, rotate 180 degrees, and then re-start the cylinders and matchspeed to the web material. The sequencer will move the bracket so thecylinders 31, 32 are in contact with the web material. After auser-defined number of these rotations, the sequencer will pull bracket5 or 9 away from the web material and provide a signal to the systemnoting that it is time to replace the material.

A second device 102 as shown in FIG. 1 may be used to remove debris fromthe cleaning material 2. In some embodiments, the device 100 that cleansthe flexible web roll 1 has the second device 102 that is configuredwith at least two winding cylinders 81, 82, which pass a second cleaningmaterial 7 over an application cylinder 10, bringing it in contact withthe cleaning material 2 to be cleaned. In the example shown in FIG. 1,the cylinder 81 may be a source cylinder on which the second cleaningmaterial 7 is rolled and the cylinder 82 may be a take-up cylinder ontowhich the second cleaning material 7 rolls after the portions cleans thecleaning material 2. In the embodiments, this contact is done where thematerial 2 is supported by cylinder 3. The position of the second device102 may also be above the cleaning material 2. In another embodiment ofthe device, the device 102 may be on the side where the cleaningmaterial 2 is unwinding from the cylinder 31. In another embodiment, thesecond cleaning material 7 may be supported by the additional cylinder10. In another embodiment, the second cleaning material 7 may bestretched against cylinder 10 without support. The cylinders 81,82 aredriven by a variable speed motor that may be synchronized with the speedof the movement of cleaning material 2. In preferred embodiments, thecylinders motors can rotate in either direction.

In the embodiments, the cylinders 81,82 are supported by a movablebracket 9 which conveys power to the motors. The bracket 9 is able tomove away from the surface of the cleaning material 2 and rotate through180 degrees so as to reverse the direction of the second cleaningmaterial 7. The bracket can then move back to position the secondcleaning material 7 against the cleaning material 2. When the directionof the second cleaning material is reversed, cylinder 82 may be thesource cylinder while cylinder 81 may be the take-up cylinder. This canallow the same roll of material to be used multiple times for cleaning.In the preferred embodiments, the bracket 9 may also be designed toallow easy exchange of the roll of cleaning material. The bracket may bemade from aluminum, metal alloy, hard web, or other suitable material.In the preferred embodiments, the bracket 9 and cylinders 81, 82 areunder control of a system sequence controller. The materials for thecleaning material 2 and the second cleaning material 7 are describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 3-4.

In operation, the device 100 continuously moves the cleaning materialweb 2 that moves at the same speed as the flexible electronics roll 1 inorder to clean the flexible electronics roll 1 as it continuously moves.Both the flexible electronics roll 1 and cleaning material 2 are movingsuch that a different portion of the cleaning material 2 cleans eachdifferent portion of the flexible electronics roll 1. In addition,device 102 carries a second cleaning material 7 that moves and makescontact with portions of the cleaning material 2 and continuously cleansthe cleaning material 2 at the take-up cylinder as shown in FIG. 1. Asdescribed above, the direction of motion of both the cleaning material 2and material 7 can be reversed so that both the cleaning material 2 andmaterial 7 may be reused. As a result, the cleaning material 2 andmaterial 7 may be used for a longer period of time until they have to bereplaced. As shown in FIG. 1, the web 1 and cleaning material maycontact/be adjacent each other at a first cleaning point and thecleaning material 2 and second cleaning material may contact/be adjacenteach other at a second cleaning point. In the operation, the cleaningmaterial 2 has a plurality of portions and each portion cleans aparticular portion of the web 1 as the web 1 and cleaning material 2move in the same direction and speed. Similarly, the second cleaningmaterial 7 has a plurality of portions and each portion cleans aparticular portion of the cleaning material 2 as the cleaning material 2and second cleaning material 7 move in the same direction and speed.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of one example of a cleaningdevice 200 according to various embodiments described herein. In theembodiments, the cylinders 31, 32 (which correspond to the cylinders31,32 in FIG. 1) or the cylinders 81,82 may each have a sensor 15 whichcan determine how much material 2 or 7 remains on the cleaning materialroll. For example, the sensor 15 most commonly used for this purpose isa commercially available distance sensor that measures distance from afixed point to the roll surface and these are typically laser orinfra-red reflective sensors. Another type of sensor would be athrough-beam laser sensor at a fixed point above the cylinder so thatonce the roll was empty, the through beam would not be blockedindicating that the roll needs to be changed. The signal from thissensor may be integrated with the system sequence controller todetermine when the bracket 5 or 9 should be rotated as described above.

FIG. 3 shows the cross-section of the cleaning material 2 used to cleanthe flexible electronics web 1. The cleaning material 2 selected shouldbe flexible, effective at removing small particles, and should notcontaminate the surface of the flexible electronics roll 1. One exampleof the material is silicone and silicone-containing polymers with aDurometer Shore A of 40-100 and a surface energy of 15 to 40 dynes/cm2.One example of this material is a cured two-component siliconecommercially-available material on a polyester carrier film. The surfaceenergy may be measured using the Fowkes two-component method with waterand diiodomethane as probe liquids. In another embodiment, polyimide maybe used as the cleaning material 2. Polyimide has good cleaningcharacteristics, but is less sticky than silicone. This may be anadvantage for areas where the web material is under less tension and mayadhere to the silicone, affecting the web tool. The cleaning material 2may include a cleaning surface layer 11 with a polymer thickness of 20to 300 microns and may be supported on a web film 12, which may be inthe range of 20 to 300 microns. The web film 12 may consist ofpolyester, polyethylene, polyimide, or other suitably flexible anddurable web film. In some embodiments of the material 2, in order to usethe cleaning material repeatedly and depending on the adhesiveproperties of the cleaning layer 11, the cleaning surface layer 11 mayhave a release agent or release liner on the wind up side on top of thelayer 11. The release agent or liner could be used for any of thematerial types to extend the life of the cleaning films by providingmechanical support during the winding and unwinding process.

The contaminants to be picked up includes organic contaminants, metalliccontaminants, byproducts of the manufacturing process, and biologicalcontaminants introduced by individuals working in the facility. Theparticles sizes would range from 0.1 micron to 10 centimeters. Theparticles adhere to the cleaning film through electrostatic attraction,the majority of the particles are held by Van der Waals forces. Thecleaning material type would be chosen to match the web film beingcleaned and the fixturing holding the web. The material would beselected to optimize cleaning while not significantly deforming thematerial being cleaned.

The cleaning material may be the same width as the web material, itcould be narrower or slightly wider that the material. This could beuser defined. The width of the cleaning material would be between 10 cmand 1000 cm. There may also be embodiments with wider cleaning material.

FIG. 4 shows the cross-section of the material 7 used to remove debrisfrom the cleaning material. The material selected should be flexible,effective at removing small particles, and should not contaminate thesurface of the cleaning material 3. The materials may include pressuresensitive adhesives and other non-curing adhesives. In the embodiments,the cleaning material 7 may include a cleaning surface layer 13 that mayhave a polymer thickness of 20 to 300 microns and may be supported on aweb film 14, which may be in the range of 20 to 300 microns. The webfilm may consist of polyester, polyethylene, polyimide, or othersuitably flexible and durable web film. In some embodiments, in order touse the cleaning material 13 repeatedly and depending on the adhesiveproperties of the cleaning layer 11, the cleaning surface layer 13 mayhave a release agent or release liner on the wind up side on top of thelayer 13. In another embodiment, each of the cleaning material shown inFIGS. 3 and 4 may have a cleaning material surface on both sides of thesupport web.

In another embodiment of this device, multiple devices configured withdifferent cleaning films to optimize cleaning of different types ofparticles may be placed along the web surface. The cleaning films mayhave different surface properties, such as surface roughness, tack, orsurface energy to more efficiently pick up different particle types. Inone embodiment, a device with material with a rougher and stickiersurface could be in contact with the web first to remove largeparticles, followed by a device with a smoother and less sticky film toremove smaller particles. In another embodiment, one material might beselected for surface properties best suited for collecting metalparticles, and another material might be selected for surface propertiesbest suited for collecting organic particles.

In another embodiment, an anti-static device, such as an ionizer, may beplaced over the web material on an input side of the cleaning device(left hand side of the exemplary device shown in FIG. 1) to eliminatestatic buildup that may be present on the surface before cleaning. Asimilar anti-static device may be placed at an exit side of the cleaningdevice (right hand side of the exemplary device shown in FIG. 1).

While preferred materials for elements have been described, the deviceis not limited by these materials. Other materials with similarcharacteristics may be used.

Although the system, device and method has been illustrated anddescribed herein with reference to preferred embodiments and specificexamples thereof, it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art that other embodiments and examples may perform similarfunctions and/or achieve like results. All such equivalent embodimentsand examples are within the spirit and scope of the disclosure, arecontemplated thereby, and are intended to be covered by the followingclaims.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and its practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the disclosure andvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

The system and method disclosed herein may be implemented via one ormore components, systems, servers, appliances, other subcomponents, ordistributed between such elements. When implemented as a system, suchsystems may include an/or involve, inter alia, components such assoftware modules, general-purpose CPU, RAM, etc. found ingeneral-purpose computers. In implementations where the innovationsreside on a server, such a server may include or involve components suchas CPU, RAM, etc., such as those found in general-purpose computers.

Additionally, the system and method herein may be achieved viaimplementations with disparate or entirely different software, hardwareand/or firmware components, beyond that set forth above. With regard tosuch other components (e.g., software, processing components, etc.)and/or computer-readable media associated with or embodying the presentinventions, for example, aspects of the innovations herein may beimplemented consistent with numerous general purpose or special purposecomputing systems or configurations. Various exemplary computingsystems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable foruse with the innovations herein may include, but are not limited to:software or other components within or embodied on personal computers,servers or server computing devices such as routing/connectivitycomponents, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, consumer electronicdevices, network PCs, other existing computer platforms, distributedcomputing environments that include one or more of the above systems ordevices, etc.

In some instances, aspects of the system and method may be achieved viaor performed by logic and/or logic instructions including programmodules, executed in association with such components or circuitry, forexample. In general, program modules may include routines, programs,objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasksor implement particular instructions herein. The inventions may also bepracticed in the context of distributed software, computer, or circuitsettings where circuitry is connected via communication buses, circuitryor links. In distributed settings, control/instructions may occur fromboth local and remote computer storage media including memory storagedevices.

The software, circuitry and components herein may also include and/orutilize one or more type of computer readable media. Computer readablemedia can be any available media that is resident on, associable with,or can be accessed by such circuits and/or computing components. By wayof example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprisecomputer storage media and communication media. Computer storage mediaincludes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information suchas computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM,ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich can be used to store the desired information and can accessed bycomputing component. Communication media may comprise computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules and/or other components.Further, communication media may include wired media such as a wirednetwork or direct-wired connection, however no media of any such typeherein includes transitory media. Combinations of the any of the aboveare also included within the scope of computer readable media.

In the present description, the terms component, module, device, etc.may refer to any type of logical or functional software elements,circuits, blocks and/or processes that may be implemented in a varietyof ways. For example, the functions of various circuits and/or blockscan be combined with one another into any other number of modules. Eachmodule may even be implemented as a software program stored on atangible memory (e.g., random access memory, read only memory, CD-ROMmemory, hard disk drive, etc.) to be read by a central processing unitto implement the functions of the innovations herein. Or, the modulescan comprise programming instructions transmitted to a general purposecomputer or to processing/graphics hardware via a transmission carrierwave. Also, the modules can be implemented as hardware logic circuitryimplementing the functions encompassed by the innovations herein.Finally, the modules can be implemented using special purposeinstructions (SIMD instructions), field programmable logic arrays or anymix thereof which provides the desired level performance and cost.

As disclosed herein, features consistent with the disclosure may beimplemented via computer-hardware, software and/or firmware. Forexample, the systems and methods disclosed herein may be embodied invarious forms including, for example, a data processor, such as acomputer that also includes a database, digital electronic circuitry,firmware, software, or in combinations of them. Further, while some ofthe disclosed implementations describe specific hardware components,systems and methods consistent with the innovations herein may beimplemented with any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.Moreover, the above-noted features and other aspects and principles ofthe innovations herein may be implemented in various environments. Suchenvironments and related applications may be specially constructed forperforming the various routines, processes and/or operations accordingto the invention or they may include a general-purpose computer orcomputing platform selectively activated or reconfigured by code toprovide the necessary functionality. The processes disclosed herein arenot inherently related to any particular computer, network,architecture, environment, or other apparatus, and may be implemented bya suitable combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Forexample, various general-purpose machines may be used with programswritten in accordance with teachings of the invention, or it may be moreconvenient to construct a specialized apparatus or system to perform therequired methods and techniques.

It should also be noted that the various logic and/or functionsdisclosed herein may be enabled using any number of combinations ofhardware, firmware, and/or as data and/or instructions embodied invarious machine-readable or computer-readable media, in terms of theirbehavioral, register transfer, logic component, and/or othercharacteristics. Computer-readable media in which such formatted dataand/or instructions may be embodied include, but are not limited to,non-volatile storage media in various forms (e.g., optical, magnetic orsemiconductor storage media) though again does not include transitorymedia. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to beconstrued in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustivesense; that is to say, in a sense of “including, but not limited to.”Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural orsingular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,”“hereunder,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import refer to thisapplication as a whole and not to any particular portions of thisapplication. When the word “or” is used in reference to a list of two ormore items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of theword: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and anycombination of the items in the list.

Although certain presently preferred implementations of the inventionhave been specifically described herein, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art to which the invention pertains that variations andmodifications of the various implementations shown and described hereinmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limitedonly to the extent required by the applicable rules of law.

While the foregoing has been with reference to a particular embodimentof the disclosure, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat changes in this embodiment may be made without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is definedby the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for applying a cleaningmaterial, the apparatus comprising: a length of cleaning materialattached to a moving cleaner device that moves and places a portion ofthe cleaning material against a portion of a moving flexible electronicsroll to clean debris from that portion of the moving flexibleelectronics roll using the portion of the cleaning material; a length ofsecond cleaning material attached to a moving device that places aportion of the second cleaning material against a portion of the movingcleaning material to clean debris from that portion of the movingcleaning material using the portion of the second cleaning material; andwherein the moving flexible electronics roll has a plurality of portionsand each portion moves over a cleaning point over time and the cleaningmaterial length has a plurality of portions and each portion is adjacentthe cleaning point over time and the cleaning material moves at a samespeed as the moving flexible electronics roll so that the movingflexible electronics roll is cleaned and wherein the second cleaningmaterial length has a plurality of portions and each portion passes asecond cleaning point over time and the moving cleaning material lengthhas the plurality of portions and each portion is adjacent the secondcleaning point over time and the second cleaning material moves at asame speed as the moving cleaning material so that the moving cleaningmaterial is cleaned at the second cleaning point.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the moving cleaner device further comprises a sourcecylinder and a take-up cylinder wherein the cleaning material is rolledoff of the source cylinder and rolled onto the take-up cylinder afterthe cleaning material has cleaned the moving flexible electronics roll.3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the source cylinder and the take-upcylinder each have a motor that drives a motion of the cleaning materialpast the cleaning point and wherein the cleaning material has a widthequal to a width of the moving flexible electronics.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein the source cylinder further comprises a sensor thatdetermines an amount of cleaning material remaining on the sourcecylinder.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the moving cleaner devicefurther comprises a roller that generates a contact patch between thecleaning material and the moving flexible electronics web surface at thecleaning point.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising a rollerunderneath the moving flexible electronics web surface that presses theportion of the moving flexible electronics at the cleaning point againstthe portion of the cleaning material.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5,wherein the moving cleaner device further comprises a bracket connectedto the roller, the source cylinder and the take-up cylinder thatreverses a direction of the cleaning material wherein the cleaningmaterial rolls off the take-up cylinder is taken up by the sourcecylinder so that that the cleaning material is reused.
 8. The apparatusof claim 7, wherein the bracket rotates 180 degrees to reverse thedirection of the cleaning material and wherein the moving cleaner devicefurther comprises an integrated control system that controls theoperation of the two cylinders, the sensor and the bracket.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the cleaning material moves in a directionthat is the same as a direction of the moving flexible electronics roll.10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the moving device furthercomprises a source cylinder and a take-up cylinder wherein the secondcleaning material is rolled off of the source cylinder and rolled ontothe take-up cylinder after the second cleaning material has cleaned themoving cleaning material.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein thesource cylinder and the take-up cylinder each have a motor that drives amotion of the second cleaning material and wherein the second cleaningmaterial has a width equal to a width of the cleaning material.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the source cylinder further comprises asensor that determines an amount of second cleaning material remainingon the source cylinder.
 13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein themoving device further comprises a roller that generates a contact patchbetween the second cleaning material and the moving cleaning material atthe second cleaning point.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein themoving device further comprises a bracket connected to the roller, thesource cylinder and the take-up cylinder that reverses a direction ofthe second cleaning material wherein the second cleaning material rollsoff the take-up cylinder is taken up by the source cylinder so that thatthe second cleaning material is reused.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14,wherein the bracket rotates 180 degrees to reverse the direction of thesecond cleaning material and reuse the second cleaning material.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 15, wherein the moving cleaning device furthercomprises an integrated control system that controls the operation ofthe two cylinders, the sensor and the bracket.
 17. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the second cleaning material moves in a direction thatis the same as a direction of the moving cleaning material.